Encore Boston Harbor on track to swing its doors open in Everett, Massachusetts by mid-2019, CEO Matt Maddox believes
Encore Boston Harbor, the $2.6-billion integrated resort currently under development in Greater Boston, is on track to open doors on June 23, Wynn Resorts CEO Matt Maddox told investors last week.
Wynn Resorts and MGM Resorts International were picked in the early 2010s as the preferred developers of Massachusetts’ first integrated resorts with commercial Las Vegas-style casino operations. MGM debuted its $950-million MGM Springfield last August, while Wynn Resorts aims to cut the ribbon of its property in mid-2019.
However, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission is yet to rule on whether the Las Vegas gaming and hospitality powerhouse is suitable to operate an integrated resort in the state.
The Wall Street Journal released last January a comprehensive report detailing multiple sexual harassment allegations against Wynn Resorts founder Steve Wynn. The casino mogul found himself embroiled in a massive public scandal and quickly resigned from his CEO and Chairman posts in the company, vacated his Wynn Las Vegas villa, and sold his stock.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission opened an investigation into the allegations and to what extent Wynn Resorts was involved in the scandal shortly after the publication of the WSJ article. Gaming regulators in Nevada and Macau, where Wynn Resorts operates integrated resorts properties, also commenced separate probes in the allegations leveled against the businessman.
Major Complications
With its investigation, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission aimed to discover whether high-level staff at Wynn Resorts had any knowledge of the alleged multiple incidents of Mr. Wynn using his power to subject female employees of the company to unwanted sexual advances and sexually harassing them.
The Massachusetts gambling regulator also investigated Wynn Resorts’ suitability to enter the state’s nascent casino market.
The probe was originally expected to be completed in August, but commission investigators asked for more time to review the issue more thoroughly. The regulatory body then targeted December publication of its finding, but Mr. Wynn sued in Nevada the regulator and Wynn Resorts in November, saying that the company he had found communicated pieces of information to the Commission that violated attorney-client privilege.
A Nevada judge has temporarily blocked the publication of MassGaming’s report and her final ruling is expected to come shortly.
Mr. Maddox has shown great optimism that Wynn Resorts will be allowed to open and operate its resort. The company recently settled with the Nevada Gaming Control Board. It was ordered to pay a fine, the size of which is yet to be determined and to get rid of the employees who were aware of Mr. Wynn’s doings but did not act properly.
Mr. Maddox told investors last week that the company has already pushed out those staff members. Wynn Resorts executives now hope that the Massachusetts Gaming Commission will be able to wrap up its probe by mid-March and many of them seem to believe that there will be a positive outcome.
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